Is the IDC to blame? Cuomo won’t single them out

I reported this morning that advocates of several end-of-session agenda items are putting the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference in the hot seat, saying its four members need to deliver on their promise to secure floor votes on progressive legislation including the just-unveiled Women’s Equality Act.

That’s very much in doubt. Under the upper chamber’s current operating structure, both IDC Leader Jeff Klein and Republican Leader Dean Skelos must assent to bring a bill up for a floor vote. Skelos told the New York Post that he “won’t consent to that coming to the floor,”and his spokesman Scott Reif reiterated this morning, “Senator Skelos has indicated he will not consent to bringing a provision that will expand late-term abortion to the floor.” (And for the record, the GOP has said it does expand late-term abortion.)

Democrats in the state Senate pounced on the statement.

“No one would believe that in 2013 there are not enough Senators willing to vote to protect the health and equality of women,” said spokesman Mike Murphy. “The statements by the Coalition leadership are deeply disturbing. We agree with the Governor that the women of New York deserve a vote and to know where their elected officials stand. All ten points must be brought to the floor. Anything less is a failure.”

Retorted IDC Spokesman Eric Soufer:

“The Senate Democratic Conference should take a long, hard look in the mirror before using the word “failure” to describe anything other than their own fractured and dysfunctional conference. Sadly, it is the Senate Democrats’ own lack of unity on women’s health issues that would cause the failure of any senate vote on women’s reproductive rights. In the three years since Senator Stewart-Cousins denied women’s choice a vote on the floor “because it doesn’t have the votes to pass,” nothing has changed.”

Speaking to Susan Arbetter on WCNY’s “The Capitol Pressroom,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo reiterated his call for a vote, but said it applied to legislators of every stripe — including Senate Democrats. At least one Democrat in the chamber, Bronx Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., said he won’t support the measure.

“It’s a question for everyone. Senate Democrats, where are you?” Cuomo said. “We should know. We should know who in the IDC, we should know who among the Republicans.”

That said, the governor said talking about inequality for women — including pay disparity and other discrimination — is “a powerful statement … in some ways the statement is as powerful as the instrumentality.”